Doppelganger
by Makke Karyumo
Summary: Jack and Bunnymund want a kid. Manny comes to their aid, but something happens. This was a request by ChibiPikaGirl on DeviantArt. The image is theirs.


_Easter's over. Bunnymund's off until next year. We can just have fun, _Jack thought as he watched Bunnymund slink into the bedroom after a hard day's work. Spending the entire day hiding eggs, along with the work he does the weeks leading up to it, are utterly exhausting. _But now he can just relax and be happy with me, _he continued as Bunnymund plopped onto the bed.

"Huhhhhhh," Bunnymund exhaled much more solemnly than Jack thought possible.

_Or not._

"What's wrong, Bunny?" Jack asked, more than a little worried. Easter usually made him so happy.

"I dunno, mate. I just… I wish… Well, I'm always around all these kids on Easter."

"But that usually makes you happy."

"It used to, but now something feels… incomplete. I dunno. I'm around all these kids, but none of them actually know me or anything like that. I guess I just wish I could have a kid of my own, is all." Bunnymund sighed after he finished talking and rolled to face Jack on the bed.

"Well," Jack smiled playfully, hoping to cheer up his mate, "I don't know about getting you a kid. But I can give you something better."

"What do y-" Before he could finish, Jack grabbed Bunnymund's chest fur and pulled him in for a kiss. After a few seconds, Bunnymund pulled away. "Oh. That's what you mean." He said and pulled Jack back in, running his paws down Jack's back.

Little did Jack and Bunnymund know, the Man in the Moon had heard Bunnymund's wish. The Man appreciated such a pure wish to have a child just so he could have them to love. The Man in the Moon was overwhelmed by the sincerity of Bunnymund's heart. He simply couldn't help himself.

Jack awoke late the next morning thanks to the sunlight streaming into the Warren after a long night with Bunnymund. But he could immediately tell something was off, but he couldn't figure out what it was. But he had shuffled around a bit too much while trying to figure it out and had awoken Bunnymund.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked, eyes still half closed.

"No, I… I don't think so," the boy replied, deciding he had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Jack soon changed his mind.

After a couple of days, Jacks stomach was inexplicably getting bigger. Not by much, but enough to be noticed. This, unsurprisingly, did not escape Bunnymund's notice.

"Okay, something's up, Frostbite, and I want to know what it is," he approached Jack at around midday.

"So do I, Bunny! I don't have any more idea what's going on than you do. But it's making me worried."

"Maybe we should go see North. He has some magical tech that I don't have. We can figure out what's going on."

"That's probably a good idea," Jack replied, getting on his staff while Bunnymund made a tunnel.

They arrived at North's not long after and met up outside the workshop before going in. When they did, they went straight to North's office. He was always in there. They ignored the elves and yetis and knocked on the door. Within seconds the big Russian man was filling the doorway.

"Oh! Bunny! Jack! To vhat do I owe this pleasure?" he asked jovially.

"A private matter," Bunnymund replied tersely.

"Oh," said the big man, his smile fading. "Come in, come in."

After they were alone inside the office, the conversation continued.

"So, vhat is ze problem?"

"This," Jack said shakily, lifting up his hoodie to reveal his stomach. The bump, although very small, was clear to see.

"Oh dear," North said, stepping forward to get a better look. "Do you have any idea what it is?"

"That's actually why we came to you, mate. I figured you could help us with that."

"Indeed. Vait here. I'll get ze equipment." Within a few minutes, North had rolled in a big machine that was mostly a screen with a cord coming out of the front and going around to the back, obviously attached to something.

It wasn't long until there was a black and white image on the screen. They didn't know what they were expecting, but what they saw definitely was not it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked, freaking out just a little bit.

"Er…" Bunnymund was speechless.

"It's… It's a baby…" North said what was on all of their minds. "But how is this possible?"

"I… I dunno, I…" Bunnymund didn't have an answer. But Jack had just remembered something.

"Bunny! Your wish on Easter!"

"My wish on…?" It took him a minute. "My… My wish on Easter! I remember now! But… you don't think… Do you?"

"Vhat? Vhat vas your vish on Easter?" North wanted to understand what they were talking about.

"On the night of Easter, I was wishing that I could have a kid of my own. But I knew it couldn't happen, so I forgot about it."

"But zen… How?" North was flabbergasted.

"I think it was him," Jack said, and they all looked through the window at the moon.

"I sink you're right, my friend," North replied. Bunnymund, however, could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

"Thank you, Manny," said the rabbit before gazing at Jack lovingly. He was finally going to have a kid of his own. He was so incredibly happy that he couldn't speak.

After a few months, it was evident that Jack was about to be having the baby. Over time, they came to the conclusion that, thanks to the magic of the Guardians and the face that the baby was at least half Bunny, it was expected to grow much faster than normal. However, throughout the last month of the pregnancy, the growth rate had slowed. They expected the baby to grow at a normal human rate, at least until the age at which this specific being would stop aging, as all magical beings do.

But that's not all. Thanks to North, they had ascertained that the baby was a girl. And they had been trying to come up with a name for her. Now, just a short time before Jack went into labor, they had come up with the name "Roxanne." They had spent all their time trying to set up a kind of nursery in the Warren, and they had done a pretty decent job. Now, all they had to was wait.

But they didn't have to wait long. Within hours of coming up with her name, Jack went into labor.

And so, Roxanne was born. Jack and Bunny spent all their time fussing over her. They could be as magical as they wanted. They were still first-time dads. It had been a few months since she was born, and their predictions had been correct. Roxanne was growing at a normal human rate. But she did not look like a normal human at all.

She had Jacks white hair, but Bunnymund's ears poking out of it. She had teal eyes and a human nose. She had a regular human torso, but she also had a bunny tail and Bunnymund's legs. And she could use them. She was already crawling around, but had given Jack and Bunnymund a scare on more than one occasion. She had been crawling around while Jack and Bunnymund were sitting together watching her. But, it turned out, she had inherited Bunnymund's tunneling magic. Right before their eyes, as Roxy was crawling, a tunnel appeared under her and she fell into it.

Needless to say, Jack and Bunnymund freaked out. They ran over to the hole in the ground, afraid of what they might find. They had nothing to worry about, however. The tunnel had been made with a slope. And, they say, there was ice going down it. She had, apparently, also inherited Jack's magic. She had frozen the ground on her way down, sliding until she didn't have any more momentum. Bunnymund hopped down and retrieved a laughing Roxy, whom he brought back to a beaming Jack. Their daughter had inherited their powers. They were so proud.

This happiness was short lived, however. Not long after that incident, something horrible happened. While Roxy was, apparently, sleeping in the nursery, Jack and Bunnymund had been relaxing in the sunlight together.

Then they heard banging, followed by the cry of Roxy. Needless to say, they ran to the nursery as fast as they could, weapons at the ready. But when they arrived, there was nothing to fight. The nursery was destroyed, but Roxy was okay. At least for now. Whatever had made its way into the nursery had left when it heard Bunnymund and Jack coming. Bunnymund immediately put away his boomerangs and ran to pick up Roxy while Jack assessed the damage to the nursery.

"Thank goodness, she's okay," Bunnymund breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah… for now… Bunnymund, we need to talk," Jack said, still looking around the nursery. Bunnymund was confused, but followed Jack out of the nursery. Eventually, they were in the sunlight again and Jack was facing away from Bunny.

"What's this about mate? We should be looking for whatever just attacked Roxy."

"We need to take her somewhere safe Bunnymund." Jack was trying hard to keep his voice steady.

"What… What do you mean Jack? She's safe here!"

"Obviously she's not. She can't stay with us."

"What the… You…" Roxy was the only thing keeping Bunnymund from lunging at Jack right there.

"Look, Bunnymund, I don't want to do it either. But whatever that thing was, it went right after Roxy. And it only knew where she was because she's always here with us."

It took hours of arguing, and many tears, but eventually Bunnymund admitted that everything Jack said was right. As much as they hated to do it, they agreed to find a home for her where whatever attacked her would never be able to find her. Jack looked for a suitable family. Eventually, he found one. A family with just a husband and wife that lived on a private lake. He was sure they would accept Roxy. Just as long as Manny pulled through for them.

The Man in the Moon looked on in sadness as he watched Bunnymund and Jack leave Roxanne on the family's doorstep with a note about her name. He knew what he had to do. He just wished he didn't have to do it. Nevertheless, he cast his magic down through the moonlight and made Roxanne visible to all humans, regardless of whether they believed in her or not. Indeed, they had absolutely no reason to.

Jude Alphonse Rivera was the groundskeeper of this home, and indeed he was the one Jack and Bunnymund intended to find Roxanne. As he picked up the strange baby, he looked around for who could have left this strange infant here. When he could not find anyone, he decided to take her to his wife, Maria Teresa Rivera, who was the maid of the house. She suggested that they show the baby to the owner of the vacation home, who was currently on vacation with his family.

Much to the relief of Jack and Bunnymund, who had been watching the entire ordeal, the owner said that the Rivera's could keep the strange child, just as long as they kept her hidden on the grounds.

Thanks to this strange occurrence, the Riveras knew that things weren't as they had seemed for their lives. And so, they made sure that Roxanne knew the stories of wonder and magic that all children were told. But they knew they were true, now, and wanted Roxanne to know it as well.

"Hmph. Tell me I can't walk around the grounds. I'll show them," Roxanne mumbled to herself. She had gotten in trouble for straying too far from the grounds. Now it was a dark and snowy night with the moon shining bright through the thin snow clouds. She made a tunnel in her room floor and jumped into it, sliding down the ground she froze ahead of her. She had long since mastered her powers. She didn't know why she had them, but she knew she was meant to use them.

She knew her parents were just trying to protect her. People wouldn't accept her. She was just too different. But she wanted to get out and see the world. She was 12 and she had powers. She was ready for whatever the world could throw at her.

Or so she thought.

As it turns out, she was not ready for a white haired boy in a blue hoodie flying around and waving a curved staff, freezing everything in his path. Thanks to her parents, she knew exactly who this was. She was just not expecting it.

It was Jack Frost. And he, evidently, was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him because he stopped and gaped at her.

"R-… Roxy?!" He said. He had not realized how close he had come to the home they had left her at to make sure she was safe.

"Yes. And you're Jack Frost. But how do you know my name?"

"I… I just… Well… I can't explain it here. Maybe you should come with me."

Roxy knew she probably shouldn't But the allure of going somewhere with Jack Frost of all people was just too alluring. Besides, if something went wrong, she could just tunnel away. Jack pulled Roxy onto his staff with him and they flew north. IT didn't take long for them to come to a tunnel. Jack flew into it without any hesitation, and in minutes they had come into a bright clearing with stone walls all around. And hopping about the place was a giant grey bunny with a sash and footwraps.

The Easter Bunny.

"Bunny!" Jack called. "Look who I found!" The rabbit turned his head but continued to hop, until he saw who Jack was talking about, at least. A look of shock crossed his face for the briefest moment before he hit the ground and toppled over, his focus entirely lost. He scrambled to his paws and hurried to the pair.

"Is this…?" he stopped.

"Roxanne. Yeah. I brought her because I ran into her while doing my job. I didn't realize how far I had gone. But I figured, after all these years, she's ready to know the truth." Bunnymund hesitated, but couldn't resist. This was his daughter, after all.

"Yeah… You're right."

It took a long while to tell Roxy the whole story. And when they were done, she was furious and inexplicably happy at the same time. Her parents were Guardians! But they had left her! But it was to keep her safe! But they didn't even try to contact her! Needless to say, she was conflicted. And it showed because she was silent for a long time. Eventually, she decided what she was going to say.

But she never got the chance to say it.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a cold wind carrying a cloud of back flowers came through the Warren and completely obscured everyone's vision. Before anyone could react, Jack and Bunnymund hear Roxanne scream. And then the flowers were gone.

But so was Roxanne.

Jack and Bunnymund acted without speaking. They both started moving toward North's factory. Without pausing, they barged into his office, much to North's surprise. Without pausing, Jack walked up to the desk and turned on the Aurora. Only then did Bunnymund bother explaining.

"Roxanne's been kidnapped. We need your help."

Within minutes, the other Guardians had joined them. After a full explanation, they all set out to look for where Roxanne could have been taken. Jack and Bunnymund searched together. IT wasn't the most efficient way, but they couldn't bear to be separate if one of them found it.

As it turned out, this was a good idea. Because Jack found the place first. And it was in the one place he hoped it wouldn't be.

It was at his old lake. He could see black flowers everywhere and immediately knew that this was where Roxy had been taken. They both sent their respective signals and went into the cave, not waiting any longer for the other Guardians to join them. It didn't take long for them to come to an ice cavern the size of a football stadium. They could see Roxanne in a cage of ice.

She was unconscious, but Bunnymund could tell she wasn't dead. Without thinking, they started running toward her. But before they even got halfway across the cavern, they were blocked by a wall of black flowers.

"Now, now. Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" A male voice spoke from behind the wall. Jack and Bunnymund immediately readied their weapons.

"Who are you and want do you want with our daughter?" Jack asked sharply as he and Bunnymund backed away from the wall of flowers.

"Aw. That hurts," the wall began to part and a figure started walking towards them. "Father."

Jack and Bunnymund gasped. Before them stood a man that looked exactly like Roxy would if she were an adult and a boy. Except everything but his pale white skin was dark. From his fur, to his hair and eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Bunnymund asked. "Our only child is Roxanne."

"Technically, that's true. But, in truth, you two are entirely responsible for my existence. Thanks to you, I came into being. Unfortunately, I got the short end of the stick. She was born and the Earth made me in that child's image. I grew quickly after I was released. Much unlike that pitiful excuse for a being." Jack and Bunny bristled at this. "I named myself Terra. But I still only got a cut of the power. She got the ice and the tunnels. All I got were the damn flowers and wind. But. If I destroy her, I'll get the rest of the power! And right now, the only thing standing between me and that is you. So I'll have to fix that."

With that, all of the flowers behind Terra flew towards them. Jack quickly worked at freezing them and using his own wind to combat Terra's. All the while, Bunnymund worked at getting around the mass of flowers so he could use his boomerangs with any kind of accuracy. Eventually, he decided to tunnel around, but each time he opened a new exit point, it suddenly became clogged with black flowers. This Terra was very skilled. He had had 12 years to perfect it, after all.

Soon, Bunnymund feinted one of his exits. He began opening one, but instead of trying to come out, he quickly changed course and popped out of another one behind Terra. Terra had not expected this and was caught off guard. But he didn't have any time to react before Bunnymund threw his boomerangs. They cut through Terra with ease, light shining from the wounds. The wind stopped and the flowers all wilted. It was clear that this creature was destroyed.

"But… I was supposed to become all powerful," he gasped before exploding into black roses.

Bunnymund and Jack took a moment to pity the poor creature. It had only come into being because they had upset the balance with their selfishness. But they didn't regret a thing, especially as they ran over the Roxanne and Jack freed her from her ice prison. Bunnymund picked her up and began walking back out of the cavern with Jack. They were met just outside by North, Tooth, and Sandman.

Sandy, seeing Roxanne unconscious, immediately put his dreamsand to work. They set off for the North Pole. Headquarters was the best place to be right now. Especially at this time of night.

Roxanne awoke with her head pounding.

"What happened?" she slurred before she noticed the five figures standing over her bed. Of course, everything about them popped into her head. She knew who they all were, even though she didn't really remember how she ended up surrounded by all of them. It didn't take long for them to explain, and then she remembered why she was conflicted before. The story of her "brother" only made her even more so. Tooth was ready, however. She had Roxanne's baby teeth ready and she showed her the memories of when she had been with Jack and Bunny, up until they left her for the Riveras.

All of this erased all of Roxanne's anger, and she felt nothing but fondness for her fathers. She thought about what she was going to say. After a few moments, she opened her mouth to speak.

She was interrupted again.

Through the window, the moonlight became even stronger than before and poured into the room, straight onto the podium in headquarters. The image of a heart appeared above the podium. Every Guardian in the room knew what it meant. Sandman was the first to "tell" Roxanne, however.

"▲ ◘ ," he "said" with a smile on his face. Clearly, Roxanne needed a translation. IT was Tooth who provided it.

"You're a Guardian, Roxy."

"A Guar-… There must be some mistake."

"Zere is no mistake, darlink. You are a Guardian. Ze Spirit of Love." North smiled.

"I… I don't understand…"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tooth continued. "Only the purest love made it possible for you to be born! That essence is inside you now. It's beautiful."

Jack and Bunnymund said nothing. They just stood together and smiled at Roxanne.

"I'm…" Roxanne's mind slowly processed the information. "I'm… a Guardian."


End file.
